WHILE the re-opening of pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafes dominated the week's headlines, soft play centres and their excitable clientele also got the green-light on Monday.

Hundreds of exuberant tots have finally been able to let off steam in some of their favourite centres, having been denied access for several months.

Funtazia, a giant indoor play centre in Blackburn, experienced its “busiest Monday since 2016”, with bookings showing no signs of slowing down.

A spokeswoman said: “It’s been absolutely crazy, and it still is. I’m not complaining, mind.

“Obviously we’re still on limited numbers so we’re still on half of capacity at the moment and that’ll be in place until the end of June, all being well.

“All of our staff are wearing masks and there’s hand sanitiser everywhere, we’ve got screens up, we’ve done everything within the guidelines that the government have given us.

“There’s of course social distancing still in place and all of the adults have to wear masks and be seated when eating food.

“Everyone is so excited, including the parents, they’re telling us as they’re coming in that the effect is immeasurable.

"The kids haven’t been to school as much so they’ve not seen their friends, and coming to soft play is just a huge relief for them all.”

Another centre to open its doors and enjoy the return of customers this week has been Giddy Kippers in Nelson.

Their owner, Nicola Nuttall, said: “It’s been really busy. We’ve taken lots of bookings and the two sessions on Saturday are already full.

“That is at reduced capacity and we’re not offering birthday parties, which is a third of our business, but the sessions that we are running have been nice and busy.

Giddy Kippers have also had to alter the way they do things as a result of the pandemic and Miss Nuttall feels that any visitors will be kept safe.

“Now you have to book online in advance and the slots are restricted to set times, and in between those sessions we close and we clean absolutely everything, so that’s the most fundamental difference which unfortunately reduces our revenue significantly.

“We have screens up and we’re using QR codes so that people can order food without having to move from their tables.”

“But, what it does mean is that we’re able to ensure that absolutely all Covid regulations are being observed.”

Soft play centres were in one of the last categories of leisure facilities to be allowed to reopen after the first major lockdown in 2020.